Design and analysis of light weight swing arm using generative design concept

Department of Mechanical Engineering, VNR Vignana Jyothyi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.

^* Corresponding Author: srinivasagupta_g@vnrvjiet.in

Abstract

A Swing arm is a mechanical device that connects the rear wheel of the motorcycle to its body, allowing it to pivot vertically. It holds the rear axle firmly while pivoting to absorb bumps and suspension loads induced by acceleration and braking. Swing arm can be single or double-sided and has appeared in a variety of geometries. The original version consists of a pair of parallel pipes holding the rear axle at one end and pivoting at the other. A shock absorber is mounted just before the rear axle and attached to the frame, below the seat rail. The primary concern is to design a lightweight swing arm that can replace conventional motorcycle swing arm design, which consists of tubular sheet metal structure throughout the swing arm neglecting the stress-induced at various positions along the length of the swing arm, i.e. (from pivots to axle blocks). The vehicle selected for this project is Yamaha FZ-S V2. The material chosen for the swing arm are Al 6061, Al 6061 T6, and Al 7075. This project uses an iterative design method called Generative design to design a lightweight swing arm without compromising the mechanical properties and performance of its counterpart. Analysis of the part will be carried forward using static Analysis comprising various load cases and extreme load conditions. The whole design and analysis process is carried forward using Autodesk Fusion 360. This swing arm design involved economic utilization of material as it reflects the in the analysis through induced stresses.